Building construction.



, c. w. ROBERTS.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1909;

I Inventor I afiaziwwesley Roberta. wzdznesaes. I Jz Z 2 w in UNITED STATES: PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES WESLEY ROBERTS, 0! LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

amnmo cons'rnuc'rr'on.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb.18, 1913.

Application i'tled Kovembor as, 1909. Serial no. 529,252.

Building Construction, of which the following is a specification. I.

This invention relates to the art of building, and particularly to the construction of buildings of concrete, cement or similar material.

The method usually adopted in constructing buildings of concrete or similar material involves the use of forms of wood which are set up so as to roduce the columns, girders, beams, etc., an these forms are filled with concrete or cement which is allowed to harden. When the concrete has hardened as suggested, the forms are removed. lhe removal of these forms entails considerable labor and represents a large item of expense in the erection of buildings and other struc: tures of this class.

The object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement whereby forms can )e set up which will perform the functions of the ordinary wood forms referred to, but which can be allowed to remain in place so as to obviate the expense of removing the forms as is necessary when wooden forms are employed. I

In the drawing annexed hereto which fully illustrates my invention, Figure '1 is a perspective view showing a portion of a co umn form, and indicating the manner in which the girders and floors are formed. Fig. 2 is also a perspective showing a portion of the complete structure. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through a girder and through a portion of the wall and showing the construction of the complete structure. This view is upon an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a front elevation showing the upper end of one of the slabs which are employed to form a column in accordance with my process. Fig. 5 is a cross section taken through one of the molds in which the slabs are made.

Before proceeding to a detailed description of the structure formed and the process, it will facilitate the disclosure to state that in practising my process I produce slabs which are formed of concrete or similar material man ordinary open, flat mold. These slabs are afterward set up so as to form colname, irders or beams of skeleton form, and in t is way these slabs are made to form molds for reinforced concrete with which I fill the interior of the columns and the interior of the beams and girders. The con- 00 crete or cement which fills the forms adheres to the inner side of the slabs and when it hardeus it roduces a monolithic structure, the slabs being, for all intents and purposes,

a part of a solid column, girder or beam. In

this way I produce a structure which has all the qualities of a solid cement or concggte reinforced structure in which all the mrts are molded simultaneously, and in ad ition to this I obviate the necessity for removing the forms in which the structural elements of the building are formed. Furthermore, it is found that a frame work constructed of elements formed of concrete or cement constitutes a better form for the concrete 76 than the ordinary wooden forms as now emplovcd.

eferring more )articularly to the parts and es ecially to big. .1, 1 and 2 represent the slali column.- The column illustrated is supposed to be located at the corner of a building, and in connection with the column I have illustrated the manner in which the girders are formed, the ends of which are supported at 815 the column. The inside faces of the column are formed of slabs ti and t. These slabs are f rmed in an elongated mold 12 such as that il giistratcd in cross section in Fig. 5. These 1 sired and of any desired depth so as to give a suliicienl thickness to the slab to insure rigidity. In forming the inside slabs 3 and 4, the ends of the slabs disposed adjacent to the girders which will support the upper 95 floor are formed with deep throats or gaps 5 as illustrated in Fig. 4. These throats or gaps are of rectangular form, and at the outer edges of the abs the fork 6 forming one side of the ga distance than the inside fork 7. These ga s or throats 5 are adapted to support t e girder forms. In or er to construct the girders I form side slabs 8 and 9 and bots which form the outside faces of a 80 )lds may be of any length or width deisextended to a greater tom slabs 10. These slabs are similar to the column slabs exce t that they are formed without throats. hey may be produced in a mold similar to the mold shown in Fig. 5. In addition to, thisthe bottom slabs are formed on their under sides each with a 1on- 'tudinally-extendingroove or channel 11. his channel is forms by employin a batten-12" running longitudinal] 10 When all of the slabs are being molded they are rovided with bonds or bond wires 18, the dies of which are embedded in the .slabs and the ends of which project from the set together to form the columns and girders as will be readily understood. n formin a column and girders out of ,the slabs re erred to, as elements, I erect a column form in the manner indicated, in Fig. l'settin the ed of the proper slabs together so t at the t roats 5 are presented on the sides of the column from which the walls extend. In the throats 5 the 'rder forms are sup orted,'the bottom sla s 1 .resting u on t e bottoms of the throats or 'gapsan extendin com letely across the gaps as'indicated. The s abs 8 and 9 which constitute the sides of the girder forms are i 'set in place in a vertical' osition, their ends bein arranged so that t ey are supported on'-t eir outer sides b the inside edges 'of the forks 6 and 7. n this way a hollow column formis erected and skeleton girders 85 are reduced, said girders being in theform of c annels 0 en on their upper sides. At;- tention is cal ed to the fact that-the inside slabs 8 of inogirder' forms arenotpf-as great a depth as the outside slabs 9 an they. corres on --in height to the height f the forks 1n this way theoutside edge of the' form is-hi her-thanthe-inside edge. In'the -interior ofth column form I provide reinforcin rods '14 and 'atthe point where. a flocr is to be formedthes'e rods present abutting sections connected coiiplings such as the coupling 15 shown in," i "1'. These-verticalreinforcing rods are ti' "together at intervals by the wires or cords 16.

At thepoint where? a floor is to be formed two of these tie wires are placed at a'isuitable height so. that they may supp'ort'horizontal reinforcing rods'17 which extend longitudinall -in the channels at "theicolumn ta forms. ese rods 17 are formed at their ends with hooks 18 which are hn-ked over the wires 16 as illustrated. At intermediate points along their" length'the rods 17 are connected by tie wires or cords 19 as shown. The slabs which compose the column forms are securely held together by a clamp 20-which .may be of the simple type shown presenting a plair of op ositely dis osed {main bars 21 w ich enga op osite sides of flee column form, and wedge are 22 which int e mold as indicated by the dotted line in Fig.

inner faces of the slabs when the slabs are extend across the intermediate faces, the ends of the said .wedge'bars being received in notches 23 at the ends of the main bars. The wedge bars are securely held in position b wedges 24 received at the notches, and t see-wed es are driven into place so as to seat the-a ain on the column slabs, as will be readily (in erstood. The side slabs .of the girder forms are held in position by means of a simple clamp 25 presenting a. bar extending transversely under the ottom slab and having-tapared end blocks 26 presenting wedge faces. ear the sides of the form,between these faces and the sides of the form. I apply wedges 27 and the inner faces of these wedges rest against the side edges of the bottom slab as well as inst the side faces of the side slabs; In this way the side slabs of the girder forms are prevented from bul "ng outwardly.

en the column form and girder forms have been erected as described, with the reinforcements in lace, I form a continuous floor of floor sla s 28. These slabs 28 are formed of reinforced concrete and the edges of the 'slabs are an ported on the upper edges of the inside s abs 8. In this way I form s continuous floor in the structure, filling all the space between the beams and girders'oif the building. -The floor slabs 28 are formed with reinforcing rods 29 and at the ed es ofthe slabs adjacent to the girders the ends of these rods form projecting bonds or anchors 80.

After'a continuous floor has been laid as described, I fill the interior of the column forms with concrete, cement or other suitable composition and I also fill the channels of the girder forms with the same composition until the level of the fillin is brought up flush with the outer ed' es 0 the girder forms. As illustrated in ig. 2, this filler will extend out over the floor slabs 28 so as to form a complete cementitious floor 31,and this floor extends out and forms the upper end of the column at this floor. If the building structure is to extend to another story the couplings 15 are permitted to roject above this cement floor 31 so as to mm a point of attachment for the up er sections of the reinforcing rods which W1 1 reinforce the next section of the column, that is, the column for the next story of the buildin i In Fig. 2 I have shown a corner of a cor coni leted and representing the lower end of tie column 82 which will' be formed above this-floor. Thiscolumn is produced by means of a column .form. composed of s the 88 similar to the slabs 1, 2, 3, and 4 described above.

In ordeia'to formthe walls 84, I use the grooves .(fi -channels 1 1 inthe lower sides of the bottomslabs 10,to retain the upper ends of studding Boss illustrated in Fig. 3. The lower, ends of the studding 85 are supwas,

ported on the fioorbe-low. The sides of the wall are formed of slabsBB of any suitable material secured to the opposite-faces of the studding by ordinary wood screws 87 having counter sunk heads. To the outer face ofthe wall slabs 36,.plaster or other finishmaterial can-be applied." In order to increase ,the rigidity of the slabs which form theelernents of the column formsand girder forms, they are provided with longitudinal reinforcing rods 88when they are molded.

The manner of formin the beams connecting the girders is sim ar to the manner of forming the girders connecting the columns. In this connection, referring to Fig.-

3, it should be understood that this view is a section through an intermediate girder and not through an outside girder such as that shown in Fig. 4. In forming the "structure at this point, the side slabs 39 are made of equal height, and on o posite sides where beams 40 are to be attac 18d they are formed with notches or gaps 41 similar to the gaps 5. In these gaps 41, beam forms are produced by means of bottom slabs 42 and side slabs 43 forming o )Oll gutters or channels in all respects similar to the girder forms described above. In this case the floor lates 44 have their side edges laid flush wit the inside faces of the side slabs 89, and their reinforcing rods 45 are arran ed so as to overlap each other as shown. The interior of this girder form is rovided with reinforcing rods 46 as in icated. The filler which forms the cctnent floor 31 at these points extends down into the interior of the girder formsand beam forms as will be readily understood. In this way a building may be erected story by stor having a monolithic frame. When the fil er burdens in the forms of the column girders and beams it will be evident that the bonds 13 form anchors securely holding the slabs upon the inner filler or core. n addition to this, the tiller will adhere to the inner faces of the slabs so that when the structure is complete the slabs are, for all irltents and purposes, integral with the fillers or cores.

When the structure is completed and the fillers have set, the clamps of course can be readily removed, but the removal of these clamps entails practically no considerable labor. It will be evident that by the employment of toy process a rigid reinforced concrete structure is formed without entailing the expense of removing the ordinary forms which are. now employed in erecting structures of this class. Special attention is also called to the advantage of forming slabs of concrete or cement as compared wit l wooden forms for the reason that the wooden forms will absorb moisture and expand so as to form cracks in the concrete orcement before it is set. Furthermore, where boards are used to form columns they tend to bulge outwardlg under the pressure from the interior ad't at in some cases the water and cement will leak out through the forin leaving a column of loose stones. 5

'bpecial attention is called to the fact that the slabs or members which. constitute the form are rigid and self sup ort-ing, that is it is not necessary to employ races to sup ort thecolumns and girders after they have een set up to form molds as described, for the girders and the floors hold the columns erect'and the columns support the girders and the doors. This greatly reduces the cost of erection of a building of this t'pe and does away with the necessity of em oying temporary supports for the mol s or forms.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A reinforced structure, comprising surfacing slabs of cemcntitious material, some n of said slabs being fitted to form columns and having recesses in their up er ends, the portions between the inner ed cs of said slabs and the said recesses being shorter than the portions of said slabs between the outer edges thereof and said recesses, some of said slabs being fitted to form the side -and lower face of girders, the said slabs fitting into the recesses of the column slabs and the inner slabs being made of a less height than the outer slabs to accommodate flooring slabs, flooring slabs fitted to said girder and column slabs, the lower slabs of the girders having grooves formed therein, parallel wall slabs mounted'adjacent to the columns and havin their ends engaging the grooves in the girder slabs and a-fillin of cementitieus material placed in said s abs in plastic form, thesetting of said cementitious material operating to bind the columns,

girders, walls and floors in one monolithic structure.

2. A structure of the class described having girders formed of slabs set to ether 50 as to form gutters, the outer slabs ing arranged with their upper edges elevated with respect to the inner slabs to form a retaining edge for the floor material, tloor plates laid on the upper edges of the inner slabs of said girders, and a cementitious tiller in said gutters and covering said floor slabs to form a floor monolithically, and a monolit-hical core for said girders.

3. A reinforced structure, comprising surfacing slabs of cementitious material, some mounted adjacent to the-eolunins and hav- In witness that I claim the foregeing I ing their ends engaging the groeves in said have hereunto subscribed my name this 17th girder slabs and a fillin of cementitious maday of November, 1909.

i ierinl placed in said s abs in lastic form, CHARLES WESLEY ROBERTS. 6 the set-ting of the cementitious filling operat- \Vitnesses:

mg to bind the columns, girders and walls F. D. AMMEN, into one monolithic structure. EDMUND A. STRAUSE.

Coplu of in patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O." 

